Fall 2007 - Faculty of Information - University of Toronto

In Memoriam
Mrs. E. Gwenyth Housby (BLS ’59)
August 28, 2006
Miss Margaret P. J. Kinsella (BLS ’66)
February 12, 2007
Mrs. Edith L. Liu (BLS ’66, MLS ’73)
September 9, 2006
Ms. Margaret Elizabeth Burns Martin (BLS ’53)
Ms. Burns Martin died on December 5, 2006 at her Halifax home at
the age of 77. Born in Toronto, she obtained a B.A. from Trinity College
at U of T, and a library degree from U of T in 1953. She was a cataloguer
at the Harvard College Library, and spent nearly 37 years as a librarian
with the Halifax City Regional Library. She was a charter member of
Heritage Trust of Nova Scotia and was principal researcher,
photographer and writer of two books on Nova Scotia’s historic
buildings, Founded Upon a Rock and South Shore, Vol. 2 of Seasoned
Timbers. A woman of many interests, she was active in the Brownie and
Girl Guide movement and a member of many cultural groups including
the Jane Austen Society, and Opera Nova Scotia. An avid world traveller,
she also enjoyed cycling around Halifax. Her remarkable memory and
keen sense of humour will be greatly missed. (excerpted from notice in
The Halifax Chronicle Herald, December 2006)
Mrs. E. Mary McMahon (BLS ’48)
February 3, 2007
Professor Peter C. Moes (BLS ’54)
June 18, 2007
Mrs. Margaret ''Maggie'' Murray (BLS ’37)
After a brief illness and 96 productive years, Margaret ''Maggie'' (Baird)
Murray died on July 9, 2007. Born in Outremont, Quebec, she lived
most of her adult life in her beloved downtown Toronto. After working
as a teacher she obtained a library science degree at U of T in 1937 and
subsequently worked at the Toronto Public Library, the Ontario
Addiction Research Foundation, TransCanada Airlines, and the Ontario
School of Hygiene. She finished a distinguished career as chief librarian
for the U of T Law School. A warm and loyal friend with a passionate
belief in the value of literacy and education as the keys to success and
fulfillment, she loved attending concerts, plays, music and dance events,
was an active volunteer, and a prodigious and talented knitter. Memorial
donations may be made to the Osborne & Lillian H. Smith Trust Fund,
239 College Street, Toronto, ON, M5T 1R5. (excerpted from notice in
The Globe and Mail, July 20, 2007)
Mr. Donald J. Nethery (BLS ’70)
July 24, 2006
Mrs. Katherine Packer (B.A. ’41)
Retired professor and former FIS Dean,
Prof. Packer passed away in the fall of
2006. After joining the U of T School of
Library Science in 1967, she became
Dean in 1979 and served in this role until
her retirement in 1984. Prof. Packer was
a cataloguer at the U of T Library and
Chief Librarian at the Ontario College of
Education before returning to U of T as
an Assistant Professor. During her term as Dean of the Faculty, she was
the prime mover in developing an Information Science program. She
realized that the impact of new technology on information should be a
special focus of library science, and steered the Faculty toward
information technology as well as setting up collaborations with other
campus departments. It was under her leadership that, in 1982, the
Faculty changed its name to the Faculty of Library and Information
Science. Prof. Packer then overhauled the MLS curriculum, increasing
information science options, emphasizing areas of research strength,
and introducing more flexibility in course selection. She is remembered
by faculty and students for her determination and dedication to library
and information science, and for shaping FIS into the professional
school that it is today. (excerpted from obituary in The Globe and Mail,
November 3, 2006.)
Mrs. Marion E. Seary (BLS ’62)
February 2007
Mrs. Patricia M. Stafford (BLS ’50)
October 20, 2006
Mrs. Ruth K. Stedman (BLS ’42)
July 9, 2006
Mrs. Shirley J. Veness (BLS ’69)
November 21, 2006
Ms. Joyce Watson (BLS ’67)
May 15, 2007
Miss Eva Webb (BLS ’44)
July 13, 2006
Miss Alma Webster (BLS ’47, MLS ’69)
Miss Webster, whose advocacy had a profound impact on the profession
of librarianship, was a strong voice for the deaf and hearing-impaired.
She passed away at age 86 on March 6, 2007. Having severe hearing loss
herself, Miss Webster had to read twice as much as her colleagues to
keep up her studies, but excelled in school, earning a BLS in 1947 and
MLS from the U of T in 1969. She co-founded the Edmonton branch
of the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association and, in 1990, with court
reporter Sandra German, helped promote CART (Communication
Access Realtime Translation), a system is now used universally in which
a stenographer's words are instantly projected onto a screen for the hard
of hearing. After the Second World War, she became one of the
Edmonton public board's first full-time librarians, and was promoted
to library supervisor, helping transform the libraries of other schools.
As head librarian of the Edmonton Public School Board, she presided
over the "golden years" of school libraries in the 1970s. (excerpt
reprinted from The Edmonton Journal, Tuesday, April 17, 2007)
Ms. Jean I. Williams (BLS ’52)
October 13, 2006
Dr. Sydney F. Wise (BLS ’50)
March 8, 2007
16 informed | september 2007